Understanding Drug Formularies

NEW JERSEY– February 1, 2018: The Kennedy Forum has released, A Consumer Guide to Drug Formularies: Understanding the Fundamentals of Behavioral Health Medications, an Issue Brief intended to help everyday Americans understand how formularies function, how health insurance can impact access to medication, and how state and federal laws regulate formularies for pharmaceuticals. The Issue Brief explains how and why health insurance companies manage the utilization of pharmaceuticals, so that consumers can understand formularies and advocate for their rights. Since Adam C. Powell, PhD., President of Payer+Provider Syndicate, has published numerous articles related to utilization management, he was engaged by The Kennedy Forum to contribute to the creation of the Issue Brief.

Tata Communications Invites Powell to Discuss Telehealth

PUNE-July 21, 2017: Tata Communications and Ruby Hall Clinic organized an event on corporate telehealth, titled Hello Health, and held in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Adam C. Powell, Ph.D., President of Payer+Provider Syndicate, was invited to speak at the event via webinar. His speech discussed how a hub-and-spoke model enables telemedicine to achieve economies of scale, and how its use has rapidly grown among American corporations. At the conclusion of the event, Ruby Hall Clinic and Tata Communications issued a press release:

Technological advances are present in nearly every aspect of medicine – from advanced equipment to even monitoring and connectivity. Telehealth too, has made huge strides and has taken the global healthcare industry by storm. In this context, Ruby Hall Clinic along with its technology partner Tata Communications, a leading global provider of network, cloud, mobility, security and collaboration services, organised a seminar ‘Hello Healthcare’ on 13th of July in Pune City focusing on corporate health. Mr. Shiv Khera, famous U.S. based author of International Bestseller ‘You Can Win’, sold over 3.5 million copies, was one of the key speakers at the event. Also, Dr. Adam Powell, Healthcare Economist and President of Payer+Provider Syndicate, Boston, U.S.A. connected via webinar to share his experience with the audience. The event was attended by over 150 top management and Human Resource representatives from many national and multi-national companies.

There was also a stimulating and insightful panel discussion with Mr. Rajneesh Malviya, VP and Centre Head, Infosys, Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, GTT and Nasscom, Mr. Subodh Bhave, Head, Safety and Health, TCS, Mr. Vishal Agarwal, MD, Avaya India, Dr. B.S. Ratta, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon and Urologist, Ruby Hall Clinic and Dr. Purvez Grant, Chief Cardiologist and Managing Trustee, Ruby Hall Clinic.

Poised to cross the two hundred crore mark by 2020, the Indian telemedicine market is one of the fastest growing in the world and if tapped correctly, can have an immensely positive effect. Explaining more about the success model of telemedicine in the U.S.A., as well as potential benefits to corporations and India, Dr. Adam Powell, Healthcare Economist and President of Payer+Provider Syndicate, Boston, U.S.A. said, “Telemedicine can be compared to a hubspoke system wherein specialists at central hubs are connected to smaller centres in rural areas as well as at corporations. The U.S.A. has successfully implemented app and kiosk-based solutions which enable 24/7 access to experts for a number of specialities. While a Willis Towers Watson survey found that only 11% of corporations adopted telemedicine practices at their workplaces in 2012, the number rose to 64% in 2016, and is projected to grow to 92% by 2018. I see the same growth potential for Indian corporations as well.”

In an engaging talk, Shiv Khera said, “Telemedicine has the power to reach the unreachable and touch the inaccessible in a timely and cost-effective manner. This proactive approach ultimately translates to a positive shift of the country’s economy. While technology and knowledge constantly need to be updated, there is tremendous opportunity if you rise to the challenge. However, even the best technology won’t work unless the right people are behind it. Moreover, trust and accountability are two factors which are also immensely important.”

Mr. Bomi Bhote, CEO, Ruby Hall Clinic concluded, “We are surrounded by products and services that help us get the things we need and want – faster, easier, and, in some cases, cheaper than just a few years ago. With telemedicine, we should expect no less. Truly, virtual care is a game changer. It is set to be the solution to better health and our association with Tata Communications as our technology partner has made this possible. With our Virtual Clinics, we at Ruby Hall Clinic can look to our rich history and tap a wealth of experience as a leading provider of health management and corporate wellness solutions. And it is this very inspiration that continues to drive our hospital to help organisations of all sizes maintain a lasting and positive healthy workplace that translates into healthy people and healthy profits.”

 

New Tech for Improving Behavioral Health

BOSTON– May 8, 2017: The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit organization founded by Patrick J. Kennedy, has released an issue brief on new technologies for improving behavioral health. The lead author of the issue brief was Adam C. Powell, Ph.D., President of Payer+Provider Syndicate. Freely available to the public, the issue brief provides an overview of infrastructure tools, assessment tools, and treatment interventions which can be used to improve the health of people with mental health and substance use disorders. In addition to highlighting existing solutions, the issue brief concludes by providing a series of success stories. Dr. Powell co-authored the report along with the Kennedy Forum senior leadership team, including Patrick J. Kennedy, Garry Carneal, JD, Steve Daviss, MD, and Henry Harbin, MD.

Topics discussed include:

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Health Information Exchanges
  • Care Coordination
  • Care Management
  • Predictive Modeling
  • Telehealth
  • Genetic Assessments
  • Heart Rate Variability
  • Functional Neuroimaging
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Remote Peer Support
  • Biofeedback
  • Electroencephalogram
  • Electric and Magnetic Stimulation
  • Virtual Reality

 

Value, Innovation, and Radiology

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 18, 2016: The American College of Radiology invited Adam C. Powell, Ph.D. to discuss the relationship between value, innovation, and radiology as a part of a broader panel of lectures on markets, value, and commoditization. During the lecture, Dr. Powell discussed the answers to five questions:

  • What is healthcare innovation?
  • What is value?
  • How does healthcare innovation impact value?
  • How do we search for value?
  • How do quality measures impact the search for value?

In summary, the answers to the questions were as follows.

What is healthcare innovation?

Healthcare innovation is “Something new, or perceived new by the population experiencing the innovation, that has the potential to drive change and redefine healthcare’s economic and/or social potential.” (Weberg D. Innovation in healthcare: a concept analysis.   Nurs Adm Q. 2009;33(3):227-37.)

What is value?

Value is outcomes / cost

How does healthcare innovation impact value?

New technologies may shift the production possibilities frontier. In doing so, they may be superior to prior technologies on multiple dimensions. Our feelings about value are relative and context-based. The adoption of innovations by others may change our beliefs about what constitutes value.

How do we search for value?

We explore options until we feel we find one which we feel provides sufficient value. We perform a bounded search, in that we do not consider every option in the universe of options, as doing so would likely be too costly. Instead, we search until we find something which seems good enough. This form of search (bounded rationality) was proposed by Cyert and March (1963).

How do quality measures impact the search for value?

Quality measures facilitate social comparisons and comparisons between present and past performance. Both forms of comparisons have the potential to increase aspirations. As the gap between present performance and aspired performance increases, satisfaction declines. Decreased satisfaction leads to the search for new solutions with the potential to boost performance. This can lead to the adoption of innovations.

Evaluating mHealth Apps

BOSTON– February 10, 2016: Are mHealth app ratings actually useful? A study authored by Adam C. Powell, Ph.D., John B. Torous, MD, and colleagues examined the interrater reliability of 22 measures commonly used to evaluate the quality of mobile health apps for depression and smoking cessation. Six raters assigned ratings to a pool of 20 apps, and then the level of agreement between the ratings was calculated using Krippendorff’s alpha. Surprisingly, the six raters had rather poor agreement on 21 of the 22 measures which were examined. There was rather high disagreement over basic issues, like whether the apps were easy to use, stated their advertising policies, and had performance issues. However, the raters had strong agreement about the level of interactiveness and feedback within the apps. These findings suggest that mHealth app reviews should be used cautiously, especially if they rely upon measures which have not been validated.

To learn more about which measures of mHealth app quality have high interrater reliability, download the full text of the study at http://mhealth.jmir.org/2016/1/e15/